Portable lightweight hand-held sewing machine

ABSTRACT

A portable, lightweight, hand-held, chainstitching sewing machine having: a reliable and inexpensive device for raising and locking the presser foot carrier rod; a pivoted spool spindle moveable between a storage position in which it is nearly flush with a side wall of the sewing machine housing and a working position in which it extends perpendicularly away from that wall; a uniquely shaped feed dog cooperating with the needle and with the hook to facilitate loop forming; a uniquely shaped hook providing reliable loop forming; and a needle support biased to a position facilitating loop forming.

United States Patent [191 Doyel 1 1 Sept. 24, 1974 [54] PORTABLELIGHTWEIGHT HAND-HELD SEWING MACHINE [76] Inventor: John S. Doyel, 404W. 20th St., New York, NY. 10011 [22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1973 [21] Appl.No.: 344,608

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.286,719, Sept. 6,

1972, abandoned,

[52] 11.8. C1. ..112/169, 112/216 [51] Int. Cl. D05b 1/00, DOSb 27/02[58] Field of Search 112/169, 199, 197, 166, 112/165, 237, 218 R, 218 A,215, 216; 223/102, 104

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 286,662 10/1883 Wendell112/237 1,809,192 6/1931 Cahill et a1 112/169 2,183,185 12/1939 Caudle112/237 2,450,837 10/1948 Marsac 112/218 A X 2,730,979 1/1956 Bell v v112/237 2,836,137 5/1958 AyrCS 112/237 3,444,833 5/1969 Blackwood et a1.112/218 R 3,745,950 7/1973 Kato 112/169 Primary Examiner-James R. Boler[5 7] ABSTRACT A portable, lightweight, hand-held, chainstitching sewingmachine having: a reliable and inexpensive device for raising andlocking the presser foot carrier rod; a pivoted spool spindle moveablebetween a storage position in which it is nearly flush with a side wallof the sewing machine housing and a working position in which it extendsperpendicularly away from that wall; a uniquely shaped feed dogcooperating with the needle and with the hook to facilitate loopforming; a uniquely shaped hook providing reliable loop forming; and aneedle support biased to a position facilitating loop forming.

8 Claims, 23 Drawing Figures Pmsmanwww 3.8% see saw u or A 1 w M 3M Ticfia,

W 35M 3e 40 42 36c V M J A S V/// i] PORTABLE LIGHTWEIGHT HAND-HELDSEWING MACHINE CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This applicationis a continuation-in-part of US. Pat. application Ser. No. 286,719 filedon Sept. 6, 1972 by the same inventor now abandoned in favor of thesubject continuation-in-part part patent application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to portablelightweight handheld sewing machines, and particularly to chainstitchers of the type disclosed in US. Pats. Nos. 2,594,534; 2,637,288;2,778,328; and 3,034,459. In basic principles of operation, the sewingmachine disclosed herein is similar to the machine disclosed in US Pat.No. 2,778,328.

Desirable characteristics of sewing machine of the type disclosedherein'are light weight, general simplicity of operation, inexpensiveconstruction and reliable operation. An object of the subject inventiontherefore is to simplify, and enhance the reliability of, certain aspects of lightweight, portable hand-held sewing machines, and thesubject invention concentrates specifically on: means for raising andlocking the presser foot carrier rod; a spool spindle which can beconveniently moved to a storage position in which it is nearly flushwith a side wall of the machine and can be moved therefrom to a workingposition in which it extends perpendicularly away from that side wall;and a feed dog, a loop taking hook and a biased needle support whichcooperate to facilitate loop forming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide aportable, hand-held chain stitching sewing machine which is simple inconstruction and in operation, which is inexpensive, and which providesreliable service.

The machine disclosed herein comprises a housing having a handle adaptedto be hand-held, a base portion, and an upper portion disposed over thebase portion and spaced therefrom. The base portion includes ahorizontal upwardly facing throat plate serving as a work supportsurface, and the upper portion includes a downwardly facing plate whichis over and spaced from the throat plate. The upper portion of thehousing supports for vertical reciprocation a presser foot carrier rodwhich has a presser foot at its lower end. A

spring urges the presser foot downwardly toward a working position inwhich it is pressed against the throat plate. The presser foot can beraised to a nonworking position, in which it is spaced from the throatplate to allow the insertion of work fabric therebetween, by a pinreceived in an aperture within the presser foot carrier rod and usableas a lever to raise the presser foot and also as a lock to lock thepresser foot in its raised nonworking position.

The machine also includes a T-shaped spool spindle which has a stemportion extending outwardly of the machine housing through an opening inthe side wall thereof, and an anchor portion pivotally mounted withinthe housing. This arrangement allows the spindle to be pivoted to astorage position in which it is nearly flush with the housing side wallto minimize the overall dimensions of the housing for easier storage.The spindle can be pivoted outwardly, from the storage position to aworking position in which it extends nearly perpendicularly outwardly ofthe housing to allow for conveniently mounting a spool thereon. Theoutward tip of the spool spindle has a lock to retain a spool mounted onthe spindle.

Reliable loop forming is facilitated by a device which tends to pushloops toward the loop taking hook, and by a hook which is uniquelyshaped.

In particular, the machine includes a feed dog moving in a periodicmotion along a defined path in a timed relationship with the verticalreciprocation of the needle. The feed dog includes a loop assistprojection extending from the feed dog toward the needle in the areawhere a loop is formed while the needle is moving up. The motions of theneedle, the feed dog and the hook are in such timed relationship thatwhile the needle is moving up from its lowest position, a thread loopforms and extends from the needle toward the wall of the feed dog whichhas the loop assist projection. As the needle continues moving up thehook moves toward the needle and engages the loop, while the feed dogand its loop assist projection move in a direction opposite that of thehook to thereby tend to push the loop toward the hook and to facilitateloop forming.

Loop forming is further facilitated by the unique shape of the hook andits position with respect to the needle and with respect to the feeddog.

In order to insure reciprocation of the needle along a well defined andfixed vertical path without using high precision components, the needlesupport is made of a stiffly resilient material and is biased againstthe resiliency of the material to avoid any play between componentswhich may result in deviation of the needle from a defined path.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of aportable handheld sewing machine embodying the invented features.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the front portion of thesewing machine shown in FIG. 1, when viewed from the side opposite thatshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of means for raising and locking thepresser foot carrier rod of the sewing machine shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a partly plan, partly broken front elevational view of thesewing machine.

FIG. 8 is a detail of the view in FIG. 7 and shows a needle and a needlesupport means in a position different from that in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view taken alongIine 10-10 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of a detail of FIG. 7.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 11 but showing a different position ofthe elements shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line 1414 of FIG. 13.

FIG. is a sectional view taken along line 1S-15 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a perspective partial view of a feed dog having a loop assistprojection.

FIGS. 17, 18, 19, 211 and 21 are partial sectional views of a detail ofFIG. 11 showing different stages of loop forming.

FIG. 22 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 15, but showingseveral possible positions ofa thread loop.

FIG. 23 is a partial sectional view along line 23-23 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, the sewing machine comprises ahousing including a handle 10 adapted to be hand-held, a body 12enclosing conventional components (not shown here) such as an electricmotor, batteries and driving gear, a base portion 14 topped by ahorizontal throat plate 16 which serves as a work support surface, andan upper portion 18 disposed above the lower portion 14 and spacedtherefrom. The upper portion 18 includes a downwardly facing plate 20and an upper plate 22. The plates 21} and 22 have apertures 20a and 22arespectively (FIG. 2) which loosely receive a vertical presser footcarrier rod 24. The presser foot carrier rod 24 terminates at its lowerend in a presser foot 26. A coil spring 28 is disposed between thepresser foot 26 and the downwardly facing plate 20 and urges the presserfoot 26 downwardly toward a working position against the throat plate16. The apertures 20a and 22a, in the plates 20 and 22 respectively,provide a guideway for vertical reciprocating motion of the presser footcarrier rod 24.

It is conventional to provide some means for moving the presser footcarrier rod of a sewing machine in reciprocating vertical motion betweena working position thereof in which it is against the throat plate and anonworking position in which it is raised up from the throat plate toallow the insertion of a work fabric therebetween. In the subjectinvention, raising the presser foot and locking it in the nonworkingposition is done by raising and locking a pin 30 (FIG. 3) which consistsof a backwardly extending stem portion 30a and a forward head portionhaving a downwardly extending lock foot 301). The stem 38 of the pin 30is loosely received within a slot aperture 2411 through the presser footcarrier rod 24. As seen in FIG. 2, the stem 30a of the pin 30 is at alltimes intermediate the upper wall of the slot aperture 24a and thedownwardly facing plate 20. A back portion ofthe stem 30a extendsbackwardly ofthe carrier rod 24 and is over the portion of the plate 20which extends backwardly of the aperture 20a therein. A forward portionof the pin 30 extends forwardly of the carrier rod 24. When the presserfoot is in its working position, the forward portion of the stem 30a isabove a lip 2012 which forms the front marginal end of the plate 20, andthe lock foot 30b is in front of the lip 20!; and clears it.

To raise the presser foot 26 and to lock it in its nonworking position,the pin 30 is moved from the solid line position shown in FIG. 2 to thedotted line position shown therein. In particular, the forward end ofthe pin 30 is grasped and lifted upwardly such that the stem 30a of thepin 30 acts as a lever having as one arm thereof the back portion of thestem 30a and as another arm thereof the forward portion of the stem 30a.The stem 30a thus acts against the upper wall of the slot aperture 24ain the carrier rod 24 and lifts the carrier rod against the action ofthe spring 28. When the forward end of the pin 30 is lifted sufficientlyso that the lock foot 30b is over the lip 20b and clears it, the pin 30is pushed backwardly to the clotted line position shown in FIG. 2. Inthat position, the lock foot 301) is against the lip 20b and is pressedagainst it by the force exerted on the stem 30a by means of the spring38 which pulls the carrier rod 24 downwardly.

In order to retain the stem 30a of the pin 30 within the slot aperture24a of the pressor foot carrier rod 24, the back end of the stem 30a isprovided with a resilient hook 30c (FIG. 4) which allows insertion ofthe pin 30 into the slot aperture 240 of the carrier rod 24, butprevents complete withdrawal of the pin 30 once it is in place. The pin30, as well as all other components shown in FIGS. l-S, except for thespring 28, are made of a plastic material.

It is noted that the pin 30 also serves to hold the presser foot rod 24to the housing 14 and to guide it in its vertical reciprocation; notethat the stem 30a of the pin 30 extends between walls 14g and 1411 whichare an integral part of the housing 14.

One of the requirements for lightweight hand-held portable sewingmachines of the type disclosed herein is compactness. For the purpose offacilitating compactness, the sewing machine disclosed herein isprovided with a spool spindle which can be moved to a storage positionin which it is nearly flush with a side wall of the sewing machine andthus minimizes the overall dimensions of the sewing machine to allowstorage thereof in a minimal size container, and which is moveable fromthe storage position to a working position in which it provides aconvenient, simple and reliable support for a spool of thread. Referringto FIG. 1, a T-shaped spool spindle 32 having a stem 32a and a bar 32bat the back end of the stem 32a is pivotally supported by the side wall12a of the housing 12 which is opposite the side viewed in FIG. 1.Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the bar 32b of the spool spindle is inwardlyof the side wall 12a, i.e., it is inside the housing 12, and the stem32a of the spindle 32 extends outwardly of the housing 12 through asuitable aperture 12b in the side wall 12a. The spool spindle 32 isshown in FIG. 5 in solid lines in its storage position and in dottedlines in its working position. It is seen from FIGS. 1 and 5 that whenthe spool spindle 32 is in its storage position, it is nearly flush withthe side wall 12a of the housing 12. In particular, referring to FIG. 1,it is seen that the spool spindle 32 is substantially within the openingbelow the handle 10 when it is in its storage position. When in itsworking position (FIG. 5), the spool spindle 32 extends outwardly of thehousing 12 and is substantially perpendicular to the shown portion ofthe side wall 12a. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the spool spindle 32 isprovided with spool locking means comprising a finger 32c which ispivoted within the bifurcated forward end of the stem 32a by means of apivot pin 32d. As seen in FIG. 6, the finger 32c moves between the solidline position so that a spool may be admitted on the spool spindle 32,and the broken line position shown in FIG. 6 so that the spool admittedon the spool spindle 32a may be locked in place. The finger 320 isfrictionally retained in either of its two positions shown in FIG. 6.The bar portion 32b of the spindle 32 is retained in its pivotallymounted positions by means of suitable pins affixed to the housing 12.Two of these pins, namely pins 34a and 34b, are shown in FIG. 6.

With respect to the position of the spool spindle 32, it is noted thatwhen in the storage position, the spool spindle stem 32a is within thehand opening a below the handle 10, and that the opening 10a issufficiently large to accommodate a spool remaining on the spindle 32when the spindle is in a storage position.

The disclosed sewing machine is a chain stitcher and forms theconventional chain stitch, which is briefly illustrated in FIGS. 17through 21.

Referring to FIG. 7, a needle 34 is reciprocated along a definedvertical path, and has a needle eye 34a carrying a thread 36. A workfabric 38 is intermittently moved leftwardly by a feed dog 40 whichmoves along a defined periodic path in a defined timed relationship wihthe needle 34. Loops formed by the thread carrying eye needle 34 belowthe work support surface 16 are engaged by a hook 42 which is movedalong a defined periodic path in a defined timed relationship with theneedle 34 and with the feed dog 40.

A typical chain stitch is illustrated in FIGS. 17 through 21, where FIG.17 shows the needle 34 in its up position and the hook 42 engaging aloop 36a. While the needle 34 is in its up position and the hook 42holds the loop 36a, the feed dog 40 moves the work fabric 38 leftwardly.The needle 34 then comes down through the fabric and through the loop36a, as shown in FIG. 19. Specifically, the needle tip strikes theforwardly and upwardly facing top portion of the hook 42 and slidesbetween the hook 42 and the adjacent portion of the thread that formsthe loop 36a. Once the needle 34 has gone through the loop 36a, the hook42 starts moving leftwardly (as the needle 34 goes further downwardly),as shown in FIG. 20, and releases the loop 36a. Once the loop 36a isreleased, it is tightened as shown in, FIG. 20 by the leftward motion ofthe work fabric 38 and by the further downward motion of the needle 34.The needle 34 then moves upwardly. As the needle 34 moves upwardly, aloop 36b forms behind the needle and a loop 360 forms in front of theneedle. At that time the hook 42 is moving toward the needle 34, asshown in FIG. 21, and its tip 42a goes through the loop 36b, i.e.,between the thread forming the loop 36b and the lower part of the needle34, just above the needle eye 34a. As the hook 42 continues its motionto the right and the needle 34 continues its motion upwardly, the hookand the needle come to the relative positions shown in FIG. 17, and thecycle is repeated.

Referring to FIG. 22, it is seen that when the thread loop which formswhen the needle 34 moves up is on the side of the approaching hook 42,the loop should be engaged by the hook, but that when the loop pointsaway from the approaching hook, it may be missed by the hook. Thus, whenthe loop is similar to the loop 36d shown in FIG. 22, and points towardthe approaching hook 42, there should be no difficulty with the loopbeing engaged by the hook. Similarly, there should be no difficulty whenthe loop points toward the adjacent faceof the feed dog 40, as the loop36e in FIG. 22.

However, when the loop points away from the approaching hook 42, as theloop 36f in FIG. 22, it may be impossible for the book 42 to engage theloop, with the result that a stitch may be missed. This is particularlyundesirable with chain stitching sewing machines,

and missed loops have long been a problem with chain stitchers.

In the sewing machine described here, special means are provided forfacilitating loop forming and loop taking, in order to reducesubstantially the possibility of missed loops. In particular, referringto FIGS. 15, 16 and 22, the feed dog 40 includes a loop assistprojection 40a which tends to push the loops toward the approaching hook42, so as to ensure their engagement by the hook 42. Specifically, thepurpose of the loop assist projection 40a is to tend to prevent theformation of loops such as the loop 36f shown in FIG. 22.

The operation of the chain stitching sewing machine described herein isas follows. The throat plate 16 (F IGS. 7 and 9) which serves as a worksupport surface is provided with a needle aperture 16a and a pair offeed dog apertures 16b and which flank the needle aperture 16a. The feeddog 40 comprises (FIG. 16) a pair of vertical walls 40d and 400 whichare spaced from each other and face each other, and which have serratedupper portions that protrude, at least intermittently, through the feeddog apertures 16d and 16c respectively (FIGS. 7 and 9). The loop assistprojection 40a extends from the side of the vertical wall 14b whichfaces the needle 34 (FIGS. 15 and 16). The feed dog 40 includes a backvertical wall 40e (FIG. 12) provided with a circular aperture 40f whichreceives an offset portion 44a of the shaft 44 which is selectivelyrotated by a suitable motor (not shown) that can be turned on and off bydepressing and releasing a switch 46 (FIG. 1). It is noted that the camportion 44a of the shaft 44 is offset from the center of the shaft 44for reasons which will become apparent in the description below. Themain portion of the shaft 44 is rotatably received within a suitableopening 48a in a vertical wall 48 which forms a part of the housing 14.The left-hand side of the back wall 40e of the feed dog 40 terminates ina fork (FIG. 11) whose opening 40g receives slidably the stem of aheaded pin 50 extending forwardly from the wall 48. As the shaft 44 isrotated, the feed dog 40 moves periodically along a path which isdefined by the offset of the shaft portion 44a from the center of theshaft 44 and by the sliding motion of the feed dog 40 with respect tothe pin 50.

The hook 42 is suitably secured to a support comprising a hollow shaft52 which is pivotally supported by a bolt 54 secured to the wall 48, andis biased toward the wall 48 by a spring 56. The hook 42 is affixed to avertical arm 52a (FIG. 11) which extends upwardly from the shaft 52 andhas a backwardly extending cam follower projection 52b (FIG. 10) whichcooperates with a cam surface 44b formed integrally with the shaft 44,

and another backwardly extending cam follower projection 520 (FIG. 12)which cooperates with a cam raceway 44c that also forms a part of theshaft 44. The motion of the hook 42 is thus defined by the axis ofrotation of the shaft 52 and by the shape of the cam surface 44b and ofthe cam raceway 44c, and by the positions of the cam follower pins 52band 52c.

The needle 34 is suitably secured to a needle shaft 58 (FIGS. 7, 8 and23) which is formed integrally with a vertical plate 60 extendingbackwardly from the needle shaft 58 in the plane of the vertical path ofthe needle 34. The plate 60 is received for vertical reciprocation in avertical slot 62a of a plate 62 which forms a part of the housing 14. Atransverse cam plate 64 is integral with the plate 60 and is positionedjust beyond the plate 62. The plate 64 forms a part of a conventionalcam arrangement cooperating with the driving shaft 44 to reciprocate theplate 60, and hence the needle shaft 58 and the needle 34 along avertical path. The timing of the vertical reciprocation of the needle 34is thus defined by the cam connection between the plate 64 and thedriving shaft 44. Any other suitable means for vertical reciprocation ofthe needle shaft 58 may be used, such as, for example, the means forreciprocating the needle shaft shown in US. Pat. No. 3,094,955 issued in1963 to Fischbein et al.

The relative timing between the respective motions of the needle 34, thefeed dog 40 and the hook 42 is such that when the needle 34 is in thelowest position of its vertical path (FIG. 13), the hook 42 is in itsleft most position and the right-hand side of the feed dog 40 is in itslowest and rightmost position. As the needle 34 starts moving up, thetip 42a of the hook 42 starts moving towards the needle, while the feeddog 40 remains substantially stationary. When the hook 42 comes to aboutthe position of FIG. 21, the right-hand side of the feed dog 40 startsmoving upwardly and leftwardly while the needle 34 is moving up and thehook tip 42a is moving rightwardly. It is noted that at this stage ofthe relative motions between the needle 34, the feed dog 40, and thehook 42, a thread loop 36a is formed and the loop assist projection 40atends to push that loop 36a towards the approaching tip 42a of the book42, to facilitate the engagement of that loop by the hook.

The needle 34 continues moving up, the hook 42 continues moving to theright such that its tip 42a engages the thread loop 36a (FIG. 17) andthe feed dog 40 continues its motion such that its right-hand end movesleftwardly and upwardly. As the needle 34 moves up far enough to clearthe work fabric 38, the upward and leftward motion ofthe feed dog 40accelerates, and the serrated upper edges of the feed dog 40 engage thework fabric 38 and move it leftwardly by a defined distance while theneedle 34 is above the work fabric 38. When the leftward motion of thefeed dog 40 is completed, the relative positions of the needle 34, thefeed dog 40 and the hook 42 are as shown in FIG. 18. The needle 34 thenstarts its downward path, and the right-hand side of the feed dog 40starts moving downwardly and rightwardly while the hook 42 remains for awhile in the position shown in FIG. 18. With the hook 42 remaining inthe position of FIG. 18, the tip of the needle 34 strikes the upper,forwardly facing surface of the hook 42 (FIGS. and I9) and its pointgoes through the loop 36a which at this time is being held by the hook42 (FIG. 19). After the needle 34 is through the loop 360, the hook 42starts pivoting left wardly (FIG. 20) while the needle 34 continuesdownwardly and the right-hand side of the feed dog 40 continues movingdownwardly and rightwardly.

In order to facilitate loop taking, the hook 42 has a uniquely shapedupper portion. The upper portion of the hook 42 terminates in arightwardly pointing tip 42a. and the side of its upper portion whichfaces the needle path is convex. Referring to FIGS. 12, 15 and 22, theupper portion of the hook 42 includes a face 42b which faces forwardlyand upwardly to engage the needle 34 and to facilitate entry of theneedle point into a formed looped (see FIG. 19). In its downward path,the tip of the needle 34 first strikes the face 42b of the hook 42, justabove the loop engaged thereby, and is somewhat deflected forwardly fromits vertical path by the face 42b of the hook 42. Both the hook 42 andthe needle 34 are somewhat resilient, and both bend somewhat uponengagement with each other: the needle bends outwardly, and the hookbends inwardly. Meanwhile, the needle tip goes through the loop held bythe hook, as seen in FIG. 19, so that the loop can be retained by theneedle 34 after the hook 42 starts moving leftwardly, as shown in FIG.20.

In order to make sure that the hook 42 engages the loop 36b which isbehind the needle 34 (FIG. 21) rather than the loop 360 which isforwardly of the needle 34, the tip 42a of the hook 42 points away fromthe needle (FIGS. 12 and 15) toward the wall 40 of the feed dog whichhas the loop assist projection 400.

While it is desirable that the needle 34 reciprocate along a strictlydefined vertical path, so that it consistently engages in the samemanner with the hook 42, it is also desirable that the needle supportmeans utilize components which are not precision parts, so that the costof making the sewing machine can be reduced. For the purpose ofaccommodating these conflicting goals, the subject invention provides aneedle support which is resiliently biased such that it reciprocates theneedle 34 along a fixed vertical path in spite of possible substantialplay between components. Referring to FIGS. 1, 7, 8, and 23, the needle34 is suitably secured to a vertical needle bar 58, and the needle bar58 is integrally formed with a backwardly extending vertical plate 60whose back end is integrally formed with a transverse plate 64. Theplate 60 reciprocates vertically with the needle 34, and the verticalreciprocation path is defined by means of the facing edges 62a of plates62 which are integral with the machine housing 14. The facing edges 62aof the plates 62 serve as key guides and fit loosely within vertical keygrooves 60 a in the plate 60. The assembly including the plates 64 and60 and the needle rod 58 and the needle 34 is reciprocated vertically bymeans of a suitable cam (not shown) affixed to the shaft 44 and asuitable cam raceway (not shown) forming a part of the plate 64.

When low precision components are used, there would normally beconsiderable play between the key grooves 60a and the keys 62a fittingtherein. In order to ensure reciprocation of the needle 34 along a fixedvertical path in spite of this possible play, the plate 60 is biasedleftwardly by means of a bias cam 66 (FIG. 66) which is carried by thehousing 14 and whose left end slidably engages the right side of theplate 60 and pushes the forward end of the plate 60 leftwardly againstthe natural resiliency of the plate 60, which is made of a stifflyresilient plastic material. In this manner, any play is taken by theresilient biasing of the plate 60, and the needle 34 is caused toreciprocate along a fixed vertical path.

It is understood that orientation terms such as horizontal, verticaf,etc. are used merely for description convenience, and relate to only oneof the many possi ble positions of the sewing machine disclosed here.

I claim:

1. A portable lightweight hand-held sewing machine comprising a housinghaving a handle adapted to be hand-held, having a base portion, andhaving an upper portion disposed over the base portion and spacedtherefrom, with both the base portion and the upper portion spaced fromthe handle, said base portion of the housing including a horizontalupwardly facing throat plate, said upper portion of the housingincluding: a downwardly facing plate having an aperture therein, saiddownwardly facing plate further having a lip extending forwardly of theaperture and a back portion extending backwardly of the aperture, avertical presser foot carrier rod extending through said aperture andhaving a lower portion disposed intermediate the downwardly facing plateand the throat plate, a presser foot depending from the lower end of therod, said rod having an upper portion extending above the downwardlyfacing plate and having a vertically extending slot aperture with anupper wall, means for supporting the presser foot carrier rod forreciprocating vertical movement, spring means for urging the presserfoot toward a working position against the throat plate; and means forraising the presser foot carrier rod to a nonworking position and forlocking it in the nonworking position, comprising: a raising and lockingpin having a shank slidably and pivotally received in and extendingthrough the slot aperture in the upper portion of the presser footcarrier rod and disposed intermediate the upper wall of the slotaperture and the downwardly facing plate, said shank having a backportion extending backwardly of the rod over the back portion of thedownwardly facing plate and a forward portion extending forwardly of theplate lip when the presser foot is in its working position, said raisingand locking pin further having a head comprising a downwardly extendinglock foot clearing the plate lip and extending downwardly thereof whenthe presser foot is in its working position, said raising and lockingpin moveable vertically to move therewith the presser foot carrier rodupwardly from the presser foot working position to the nonworkingposition and to move the pin lock foot to a position in which it isabove the lip of the downwardly facing plate, said pin additionallymoveable backwardly within the presser foot carrier rod slot apertureuntil the pin lock foot is over saidlip to lock therewith when released,with the spring means urging the presser foot carrier rod downwardly,and with the upper wall of the slot aperture in the rod pressingdownwardly against the pin shank and thereby pressing the lockfootagainst the plate lip.

2. A sewing machine as in claim 1 including a side wall of the housinghaving a side facing opening, a spool spindle having a stem extendingoutwardly of the housing through said opening therein and having ananchor back portion disposed inwardly of the side wall, means forpivotally supporting the anchor portion of the spindle to allow pivotingthe spindle between a storage position in which the spindle stem isadjacent and substantially parallel with a portion of the side wall anda working position in which the spindle stem extends outwardly of thehousing side wall and is substantially perpendicular to a portionthereof.

3. A lightweight, hand-held. chain stitching sewing machine comprising:

a housing including an upwardly facing work support surface having meansdefining a needle aperture and a feed dog aperture in the work supportsurface;

a thread carrying eyed needle and needle support means secured to thehousing for endwise reciprocation of the needle along a vertical paththrough the needle aperture;

a loop taking hook and hook support means secured to the housing forperiodic movement of the hook along a defined path below the worksupport surface;

means for feeding a work fabric along the work support surface and overthe needle aperture in a defined direction transverse to the needlepath, said feeding means including a feed dog having a fabric engagingportion which protrudes at least intermittently upwardly through saidfeed dog aperture in the work support surface and a wall portion locatedbelow the work support surface adjacent and facing the needle path, saidwall portion having means for engaging thread loops extending theretoand coming into contact therewith, and feed dog support means secured tothe housing for periodic movement of the feed dog along a defined path;means for driving the needle support means, the hook support means andthe feed dog support means in such timed relationship that while theneedle is moving up from the lowest position along its vertical path, athread loop forms and extends from the needle toward said wall portionof the feed dog, as the needle continues moving up the hook moves towardthe needle and engages said loop, and the feed dog and said wall portionthereof move, as the needle moves up, in a direction opposite thedirection in which the hook moves to engage said loop, whereby said wallportion of the feed dog tends to engage a loop extending towards it fromthe needle and to move the loop toward the approaching hook to therebyfacilitate engagement of the loop by the hook.

4. A chain stitching sewing machine as in claim 3 wherein the means forengaging thread loops comprise a loop assist projection affixed to thewall portion of the feed dog and extending toward the needle, said loopassist projection tending to engage successive loops extending toward itfrom the needle and to move said loops toward the hook for engagementthereby.

5. A chain stitching sewing machine'as in claim 4 wherein the hookincludes a loop taking portion which is disposed between the needle andsaid loop assist projection for at least a portion of the periodicmovement of the hook along the defined path.

6. A chain stitching sewing machine as in claim 5 wherein the loopengaging porion of the hook terminates in a tip facing away from theneedle toward said wall portion of the feed dog, and wherein the hookfurther includes a needle engaging portion which is further away fromsaid wall portion of the feed dog than the hook tip and engages theneedle for at least a portion of the periodic movement of the hook alongits defined path.

7. A chain stitching sewing machine as in claim 6 wherein the hookintercepts the vertical path of the needle for at least a portion of itsperiodic movement and deflects the needle tip from its vertical path.

8. A chain stitching sewing machine as in claim 7 wherein the needlesupport means comprises a stiffly resilient plate extending away fromthe needle along a plane including the vertical path of the needle,means for slidably supporting the plate within the housing for verticalreciprocation of the plate, and biasing means extending from the housingand engaging said plate to bias the plate toward one side of its plane.

1. A portable lightweight hand-held sewing machine comprising a housinghaving a handle adapted to be hand-held, having a base portion, andhaving an upper portion disposed over the base portion and spacedtherefrom, with both the base portion and the upper portion spaced fromthe handle, said base portion of the housing including a horizontalupwardly facing throat plate, said upper portion of the housingincluding: a downwardly facing plate having an aperture therein, saiddownwardly facing plate further having a lip extending forwardly of theaperture and a back portion extending backwardly of the aperture, avertical presser foot carrier rod extending through said aperture andhaving a lower portion disposed intermediate the downwardly facing plateand the throat plate, a presser foot depending from the lower end of therod, said rod having an upper portion extending above the downwardlyfacing plate and having a vertically extending slot aperture with anupper wall, means for supporting the presser foot carrier rod forreciprocating vertical movement, spring means for urging the presserfoot toward a working position against the throat plate; and means forraising the presser foot carrier rod to a nonworking position and forlocking it in the nonworking position, comprising: a raising and lockingpin having a shank slidably and pivotally received in and extendingthrough the slot aperture in the upper portion of the presser footcarrier rod and disposed intermediate the upper wall of the slotaperture and the downwardly facing plate, said shank having a backportion extending backwardly of the rod over the back portion of thedownwardly facing plate and a forward portion extending forwardly of theplate lip when the presser foot is in its working position, said raisingand locking pin further having a head comprising a downwardly extendinglock foot clearing the plate lip and extending downwardly thereof whenthe presser foot is in its working position, said raising and lockingpin moveable vertically to move therewith the presser foot carrier rodupwardly from the presser foot working position to the nonworkingposition and to move the pin lock foot to a position in which it isabove the lip of the downwardly facing plate, said pin additionallymoveable backwardly within the presser foot carrier rod slot apertureuntil the pin lock foot is over said lip to lock therewith whenreleased, with the spring means urging the presser foot carrier roddownwardly, and with the upper wall of the slot aperture in the rodpressing downwardly against the pin shank and thereby pressing the lockfoot against the plate lip.
 2. A sewing machine as in claim 1 includinga side wall of the housing having a side facing opening, a spool spindlehaving a stem extending outwardly of the housing through said openingtherein and having an anchor back portion disposed inwardly of the sidewall, means for pivotally supporting the anchor portion of the spindleto allow pivotinG the spindle between a storage position in which thespindle stem is adjacent and substantially parallel with a portion ofthe side wall and a working position in which the spindle stem extendsoutwardly of the housing side wall and is substantially perpendicular toa portion thereof.
 3. A lightweight, hand-held, chain stitching sewingmachine comprising: a housing including an upwardly facing work supportsurface having means defining a needle aperture and a feed dog aperturein the work support surface; a thread carrying eyed needle and needlesupport means secured to the housing for endwise reciprocation of theneedle along a vertical path through the needle aperture; a loop takinghook and hook support means secured to the housing for periodic movementof the hook along a defined path below the work support surface; meansfor feeding a work fabric along the work support surface and over theneedle aperture in a defined direction transverse to the needle path,said feeding means including a feed dog having a fabric engaging portionwhich protrudes at least intermittently upwardly through said feed dogaperture in the work support surface and a wall portion located belowthe work support surface adjacent and facing the needle path, said wallportion having means for engaging thread loops extending thereto andcoming into contact therewith, and feed dog support means secured to thehousing for periodic movement of the feed dog along a defined path;means for driving the needle support means, the hook support means andthe feed dog support means in such timed relationship that while theneedle is moving up from the lowest position along its vertical path, athread loop forms and extends from the needle toward said wall portionof the feed dog, as the needle continues moving up the hook moves towardthe needle and engages said loop, and the feed dog and said wall portionthereof move, as the needle moves up, in a direction opposite thedirection in which the hook moves to engage said loop, whereby said wallportion of the feed dog tends to engage a loop extending towards it fromthe needle and to move the loop toward the approaching hook to therebyfacilitate engagement of the loop by the hook.
 4. A chain stitchingsewing machine as in claim 3 wherein the means for engaging thread loopscomprise a loop assist projection affixed to the wall portion of thefeed dog and extending toward the needle, said loop assist projectiontending to engage successive loops extending toward it from the needleand to move said loops toward the hook for engagement thereby.
 5. Achain stitching sewing machine as in claim 4 wherein the hook includes aloop taking portion which is disposed between the needle and said loopassist projection for at least a portion of the periodic movement of thehook along the defined path.
 6. A chain stitching sewing machine as inclaim 5 wherein the loop engaging porion of the hook terminates in a tipfacing away from the needle toward said wall portion of the feed dog,and wherein the hook further includes a needle engaging portion which isfurther away from said wall portion of the feed dog than the hook tipand engages the needle for at least a portion of the periodic movementof the hook along its defined path.
 7. A chain stitching sewing machineas in claim 6 wherein the hook intercepts the vertical path of theneedle for at least a portion of its periodic movement and deflects theneedle tip from its vertical path.
 8. A chain stitching sewing machineas in claim 7 wherein the needle support means comprises a stifflyresilient plate extending away from the needle along a plane includingthe vertical path of the needle, means for slidably supporting the platewithin the housing for vertical reciprocation of the plate, and biasingmeans extending from the housing and engaging said plate to bias theplate toward one side of its plane.